What did you like least about "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper?

Use this forum to discuss the August 2024 Book of the Month, "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper.
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Rosario M
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Re: What did you like least about "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper?

Post by Rosario M »

I loved the book and didn't care about the sexual scenes, but there were some details and parts of the story that were not really necessary for the development of the story. And in the end everything was so quick that I missed something more there...
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Post by Renee Syll Springer »

I wasn't impressed with this book at all. I was disappointed in nearly every character except Sister Rosalie and Dr. Hale Senior. The author saved all the description for the traumatic parts and there were scenes that were added almost as a filler to meet some unknown quota of pages. The storyline didn't flow and nearly all the parts noted in the synopsis were in the final 60 pages of the book. I might have liked it better if it focused on the second half and you got snippets of her previous life through flashbacks or clues.
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Post by Carla Clima »

I didn't like Barry at all, I know Tod was much more of an idiot compared, but I still didn't like the way the author mentioned that Barry would ask at every step of the way while they had sexual intercourse, while Vannessa was uncomfortable to do it right at first. And then the fact that he was brought up again later on.
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Post by Ali Pinar »

I did not like the story telling at the end. It deviated from the rest of the book with too much Hollywood in it.
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Post by Jenny Mat »

i didn't really think the end was worthy of the whole plot. It was an expected end and I would have thought to be more surprise.

The sexual content could have been toned down as I found it really very crude.
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Ruth Shirk
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Post by Ruth Shirk »

There are two things I really did not like. I did not like the ending as it was too abrupt. I also did not like the amount of sexual content.
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Post by Dolores Lee »

The only part I didn't like about the book was how it ended. It was so abrupt and left you hanging. It seems like there should be more to the story.
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Post by AdriannaEddy »

I felt that a lot of the historical anecdotes were long-winded, and I felt that it made me want to skip certain sections because I found that as I read on and on, there was no progress in the story, or no usage of the history references that actually mattered to the story. I think it would have been more interesting to have used these history references as a way to bring them back later on in a relevant way, but it wasn’t so it’s a bit deflated in that aspect. I like that they wrote the characters to be interested in these lessons, but I resonated more of the characters who didn’t have the patience for sister Rosalie’s Explanations. I wish there was more time spent on the adult life in the final chapters, where the people we are meant to root for are finally together and connect as a family in the way they deserve. What about the rock? How does the blending of the families go? What’s next? A new book would be cool to continue this but I need it to have our shared thoughts in mind to execute it the right way.
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Post by Jennifer Herzberg »

The violent sex was terrible. Also I know that the rascism was necessary to the story I thought it was quite off-putting.

I think a lot of people might be triggered by it and it is kind of a surprise. Especially the parts after she got married.
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